Same Faces, Different Places
by Grav
Summary: Atlantis gets some unexpected visitors who, in turn, are not visiting what they expect. Set in Wild West!Lantis and guest starring Donna Noble and The Doctor.


AN: I am writing for **vickysg1** who requested "Crossover with Doctor Who, the Doctor (Ten) and Donna land in Atlantis, no mention of Rose, please." Man, did I ever panic when I got this prompt! It was fun though. I hope everyone else has as much fun as I did. Doctor Who and Wild West !Lantis to boot.

Thanks to my betas **eldanna** and **lexara**! I sort of mashed the results of both together. 

Rating: Kid friendly.

Spoilers: Nothing specific.

Disclaimer: Totally not mine. At all. Even remotely.

Summary: Atlantis gets some unexpected visitors who, in turn, are not visiting what they expect.

* * *

**Same Faces, Different Places**

"Do you want to see something funny?"

"Don't I always?"

The Doctor ignored the non-answer and spun a number of toggles in opposing directions, his head cocked to the side as he listened for minute changes in the time stream that would help him orient the TARDIS (or so she assumed, anyway. It was probably a collection of random personality quirks).

"I mean it, Donna." He protested. "Human beings from your own time in another galaxy!"

"Why is that funny?"

"Because they try so hard to keep it a secret."

"Well it works out well enough for UNIT." The TARDIS pitched violently to the left, and Donna careened into one of the hand rails, but kept her footing.

"Hold on!" The Doctor yelled, quite ignoring her responding gesture, "We're coming in for a landing! Nothing but beaches and water for you here."

"That would be a nice change. I've been looking forward to a holiday."

The TARDIS spun, and then came to an abrupt halt. The Doctor grinned at her, and she couldn't help but return it; those moments before they stepped out the door were always a shared secret of impending adventure and potential happiness.

"Shall we?"

And then there was a knock on the door.

"What?"

* * *

John Sheppard sat on the front porch of Weir's Mercantile with his feet on the rail and a half-whittled peg in his hands. After the wedding, he and Elizabeth had rebuilt the upper story of the building and moved in. They talked of houses, and of families, but for now they were both content to have only each other and a view of the street. Elizabeth had mentioned changing the name of the store to match her current status, but John knew how slow these towns were to change. The people in Atlantis would probably go on calling it Weir's Mercantile for a hundred years after Elizabeth died. She was settled here, and John was settling too.

He found he didn't mind it as much as he thought he might. There were still adventures to be had, even if now they more often involved lightning struck barns and lost sheep than they did Wraith attacks. And at the end of the day, he slept in a bed, in a house, with the woman he loved, and every morning when he woke up, he wondered how it wasn't all a dream.

Mornings were his favourite time in Atlantis. He rose with the sun, as did everyone else, but he liked to watch people go about the business of starting their day. He paid attention to everyone's routines, and found himself feeling concern for his neighbours if they deviated from them. Mrs. Beckett, for example, should be taking a walk just about now (Elizabeth had smacked him when he suggested it looked more like a waddle, but she'd had laughter in her eyes), but she had yet to grace the street. John was halfway to taking his feet down when he finally saw her emerge from Dr. Beckett's office, and he smiled as she made progress down the street towards the smithy.

The days all ran the same in Atlantis. Ronon openly made fun of him, and even Teyla seemed to find his new-found sedentary life-style a cause for quiet humour, but John Sheppard had found his routine and he was happy in it.

Suddenly, a noise brought him straight out of his reverie. It was a quiet metal roaring sound, like giant steel bellows, pushing air hard behind a train, but no train was scheduled for the morning. What's more, the noise seemed to be coming from directly behind him, in the still unopened store. John got to his feet quickly and ran inside. Elizabeth stood across the store from him, her face mirroring his surprise, and then she disappeared as a large blue box appeared from nowhere in the open floor in the middle of the store.

The box was taller than a man, and just shy of arm's width across. It said, in plain English "police call box", but John had no idea what that might mean. Elizabeth made her way to his side, her face very confused but unafraid, and John felt a surge of pride. Before he could think of what to do, Elizabeth took three long steps to reach the front of the box, and knocked on the door.

* * *

"Apparently even in other galaxies we are still polite enough to knock." Said Donna, quite unconcerned.

"There shouldn't be anyone around _to_ knock!" The Doctor protested. "I was very sure I set us down in an empty room."

"Since when have you ever set us down where you meant to?"

"That is not fair!"

"Are you going to answer the door or not?"

The Doctor flipped on his overcoat with a bit more flair than was absolutely necessary, and strode down the ramp to the door of the TARDIS.

"Donna Noble," he said extravagantly, "May I present to you: Atlantis!"

And he threw open the door.

* * *

John had his gun half-drawn before he remembered that he couldn't draw a gun he no longer carried indoors. Elizabeth started back towards him, but did not scream. The man who came through the door screamed loudly enough for all of them: an abrupt warbling yelp that cut off quickly as he slammed the door shut again.

Neither Elizabeth nor John said anything for ten whole seconds, and then the door opened again.

This time a woman emerged. She was very oddly dressed, in trousers, of all things, but she was smiling and she looked as calm about the situation as did Elizabeth, so John relaxed as well.

"You'll have to forgive my companion," the woman said in an English accent. "He doesn't always react well to surprises. Sorry if we startled you. My name's Donna Noble. We were trying to find a place called Atlantis."

"This is Atlantis." Elizabeth said slowly, her voice completely even though she did not return the woman's bright smile.

"Right. One moment please!" And she turned away to open the door again. "Doctor! Doctor, come out here! This _is_ Atlantis."

* * *

"Look at you!" the man called the Doctor declared for the fourth or fifth time, having walked all the way around John and Elizabeth twice and peered at them very closely. "With petticoats and pocket watches! Tell me, Colonel Shepherd, do you have a cowboy hat?"

"It's Mister Shepherd, sir. I have never been in the army." John said warily. "And a gentleman doesn't wear his hat inside."

"Of course! Of course!" The Doctor said. "But…how are you all here? In this place? No, in this time?"

"I beg your pardon, Doctor," Elizabeth said. "But what other time could we be in?"

"What year is it?"

She told him.

"Oh, excellent! We've missed all the snow." The Doctor said, "Have you read "From the Earth to the Moon?" yet?"

"Yes."

"There's so much more than the moon."

* * *

The Doctor's eyes were wide and frenetic, but Elizabeth did not for a moment doubt his sincerity. She could not explain how his blue box had appeared in her shop, but neither could she deny it. What was travel to the moon compared to that? As the Doctor continued to tell them all about the other John and the other Elizabeth, her husband stood as close to her as propriety allowed.

Miss Noble was wandering around the shop looking with great curiosity at the barrels and containers of food in the dry goods section. She glanced out the front window, and then rushed back to the blue box.

"Doctor!" Elizabeth found it odd that even his companion didn't seem to know his name, "We're about to have company."

"That would be Mr. McKay," Elizabeth said. "He's been here every morning all week waiting for that order from Denver."

"Rodney McKay!" The Doctor sounded delighted, "Oh, I'd been looking forward to making fun of him!"

"Doctor!" Donna said.

"You're right!" he agreed, fixing John with a particularly direct look. "We should go."

Miss Noble and the Doctor quickly made their way to the blue box and opened the door. Elizabeth looked over their heads and saw a world of impossibilities on the inside. Miss Noble smiled and waved before disappearing over the threshold. The Doctor made to do the same, but then looked over his shoulder again with a look of boyish glee on his face.

"Want to come?" he asked.

"Out there?" John said, "With you?"

Elizabeth smiled, her eyes full of stars, but then looked at John and around the store, and shook her head.

"This is home." John said simply. "Whatever else you have seen out there, this is our home."

The Doctor smiled, and shut the door.

* * *

  
Rodney McKay stood on the front step of Weir's Mercantile and wondered what in the world could be making that sort of noise. Zelenka had probably ordered some parts on his own in an attempt to outdo him.

He had so much work to do.

* * *

**Finis**

Gravity_Not_Included, July 14, 2009


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